


Meta Gaming

by kira6384



Category: Naruto
Genre: Crossover, Mistborn, Original Character(s), Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-02-28 05:39:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13264857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kira6384/pseuds/kira6384
Summary: I had lived a boring, repetitive life. Then I saw a dog and her pup crossing the street and there was an incoming car, at the the two dogs survived, they were more likely to change the world than I was. Except then the Sage of Six Paths appeared, dragging me from the ever present darkness of death. Now I have a fuck ton of chakra, and get to meta game through another life.





	1. One Life for Two

“The Elf prince was approaching, armed with a longsword, he also had light armor on. Roll for initiative.” The DM tried to hide his smirk, no doubt something up his sleeve, something that could end badly for the party.

Rolling my D20, with a prayer for at least a 15 so I can avoid an ambush and have the upper hand.

The die tumbles and rolls to a 7. I sighed. My character would stand there and watch then, unable to get the nerve to act.

“Oh! Tye rolled a 19, which means he’s the only one who steps forward to the prince, who turns out to be first in line for his father’s throne. You four all hear the guards unsheathe their swords, since Tye seems to have engaged in what they perceive a challenge. Since Lynn rolled a 7,” Rolling my eyes was habit, because it seemed only typical he would pick on me, “And you two rolled over a ten, she steps back and tries to disengage from the confrontation.”

Tye jabbed my side, he needed me to be able to back him up, he was the brawn of the party, while the brains and strategy went to me. But not this time. Obscenities were on the tip of my tongue, begging to be declared with anger. It didn’t seem I had a choice in how I would react to the fight.

“Alright Lynn, roll your reflex, with your acrobatics modifier.” Frowning slightly, since acrobatics didn’t always help in a fight, the die was cast to decide my fate. It landed on a 17, and my bonus was +3. That meant I got a twenty. My grin was so wide it hurt, being an asset to my party meant better loot after all.

\--

Walking home after the D&D session gave me time to think, to ponder. They had been arguing about meta-gaming when I left, the fact that they are trying to ask about things they have no right to know, and facts that their characters wouldn’t know. I hadn’t wanted to listen to them fight, hence I left early, the combat was over and there were errands that needed to be done.

I always wondered what life would be like if I had knowledge of things, like, who would win what, if war was going to happen in a set year. 

Life for me was boring, I would go to work, sometimes have to pull a night shift, then return home and waste hours in front of a screen. It was a very repetitive schedule, and it did get boring, but I was so used to the monotony that it no longer bothered me.

I had hobbies sure, I liked to make things and read, draw. I had TV shows I liked, some anime and some not. Ever since I was five I loved Naruto, I recall the exact episode I saw first, with the first scene.

It was the Land of Waves arc, Haku was fighting Naruto in his house of mirrors, and then the channel changed, but from that day my life wasn’t the same.

I found the show a few years later and became obsessed with it, everything I did was related to Naruto, and although people tried to make me not like it, nothing they did curbed my enthusiasm. It was a show that I loved with so much fervor, I even declared I wanted to be a ninja when I grew up. I wish I could still have the mind of a child, still aim to do something great. 

I was destined to waste my life, a monotonous cycle of motion, rarely changing. Even with sessions of D&D, it was the same thing over and over. I almost wanted it to end, but what else was there after this life? I lived in America, so I had a decent amount of freedom. I could aim to get another degree, but that would cost even more, and I’m still paying off my first degree. 

It was a never ending spiral to insanity.

Emotion was already hard for me to feel, I generally felt neutral. I had plenty of people take advantage of my feelings, my emotions and the capacity that I could care, and throw it back into my face. When I started to care about someone, it would go from zero to one-hundred in a very short span. I cared a lot about people, those that were close to me, I would fight for them, and I came to regret that part of me.

I had become guarded with who I cared about, and who I let know I cared.

I was only a few minutes away from my apartment, and I saw one of the few things that made my heart leap. There was a dog sitting in the middle of the street, nudging what could only be it’s pup to get onto the sidewalk, and man was a I a sucker for animals.

Animals were pure, cats included if you asked me. Sure they might decide to scratch you, but they wouldn’t slander your name, and since you fed them they would stick around.

I could see headlights down the road, and I knew they wouldn’t see the small dog, there wouldn’t be time. My footsteps were heavy as I ran over to the dog and pup, the look of fear in the mother’s eyes, for her pup and herself was something I know if I hadn’t gotten here sooner I would hate myself for.

I quickly picked up the pup, who seemed curious as to who I was, and set it on the grassy bank next to the road. It’s fur was matted but it wasn’t scrawny, it was just young and couldn’t move quickly yet. The dog followed me, and I could feel the relief oozing off of her, her pup was safe and so was she.

I could see the flash of lights in the corner of my eye, yes right there was a car coming.

I heard the screech of tires, I wasn’t wearing my glasses, which I only realized then meant the car was much closer than I thought. The dog was barking, combined with the screech, the car was hitting it’s breaks, but I knew it was right next to me, still going too fast.

I didn’t regret caring for the dog more.

\--

The pain itself came and went, likely my spine had been broken and that was what ended my suffering. Astral projection was something I had only experienced once, and it had been so vivid, I knew this is what was happening again. Moving wasn’t the same, I didn’t have a body, and if I let my mind wander, my body didn’t stay rooted to the ground. 

The driver of the car was panicking, I could tell there was blood around my body, yet I was still more worried about the dog and her pup. They could get adopted into a kind family and give joy to a child, could have more puppies. I willed myself over to the dog from where my body was, and I was glad that dogs seemed able to sense more. 

I knew the dog couldn’t see me, I wasn’t in the physical plane. But it knew my presence was there. I wanted to pet the dog, let it know it was okay, I could barely hear the whimpering, and I wanted to assure the dog that I would be okay. The world around me was getting darker, I knew that probably meant my time was done. But I was okay with that, because my one life was traded for two, and those two lives could help more than my one.

 

The darkness took over very abruptly. I had expected my life to flash past me, maybe a tunnel leading to a light at the other end. I hadn’t been religious, I believed there had to be some sort of higher power, but I didn’t let myself think about it too often.

Maybe if I had believed in God, this empty void around me, consuming everything about who I thought I was, it might take form into what people refer to as ‘Heaven’. The emptiness didn’t hurt, it just leeched the warmth from what I had thought was my body. 

No fingers, toes or legs, I now float in this empty space. Forced to think about how little I had done before. I would smile at the fact that even in my death I at least saved animals that love unconditionally, but there was nothing to smile with.

I must be a floating consciousness, I can’t have still had my soul, unless that’s what links your body and mind, and even then, I have no body.

Screaming only echoes in my mind, nothing for it to bounce off of. Stuck in my mind for an eternity, unable to ever interact. Pushing outward with my remaining sense of self, there is pressure pushing back, keeping me in check. Not letting me move. Pushing gets more tough,  _ keep going. _

There is nothing to see, but I try to imagine a pinpoint of light in front me, my focus, and I push, I try to get there and reach it. Of course it doesn’t get bigger but the pressure around me increases, but I can’t stop, I need to get there.

A rubber band snap, that’s all I can say it feels like. I pushed and something snapped, me, the void, who knows. Isolation is still all around me, yet no longer pushing me down. The sting of the snap remains, but I can  _ feel  _ the sting.

Looking down, there is a hazy blue outline of  _ something,  _ a body, it was mine, which meant returning to existence. My legs had no weight, along with the rest of me, yet getting up felt real.

The depthless void surrounded me, only slightly lit by an orb of light up above. Glancing up causes me to notice the orb is descending to me. Unable to believe it is real, staring and gawking at it seems natural.

It reaches me in no time, as it gets closer my arms reach up to hold it, only to shock me by replacing the cold sensation of the void with a warm presence.

Sensing another, stronger presence behind me,  I turn to see who it is, and am met with quite a sight. The man was pale, had white hair that went to his shoulders, and oddly enough seemed to have horns. This was the Sage of Six Paths, son of a chakra maniac who wants to ruin the shinobi world. There was no way this was real, he was fiction and part of a story, granted it was a story I loved with a passion, but it just couldn’t be real.

“This can’t be real.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, word vomit from my mind. The man in front of me laughed, more of a chuckle but apparently it was amusing.

“I understand your confusion my dear. It is only natural.” His eyes bore into mine, concentric circles that seemed to draw me in. I tore my eyes away, his intense stare was too much.

“To be frank with you dear, you never did live your life to its fullest did you?” Condescension was laced into every word he spoke, and it hurt all the more because it was true. He saw me frown, and continued to speak.

“You do however have a caring heart. Even in your last moments you cared more for others than yourself. I have a proposition for you.” My eyes met his again, my eyebrows drawn together.

“What kind of deal? There has to be a cost, or a penalty or something.”

He smirked, which meant I was right, there was a catch, as there always was in these situations.

“The only catch is that you will go through pain and suffering, but I want to give you a chance to change a world. You have the capacity to care intensely, and that capacity can give you more strength than you can imagine. I want you to save as many additional lives as you can. But there is one other thing.” I tilted my head, this all sounded interesting, since the world he is likely talking about it his, which would mean I can do what I’ve always wanted, become a ninja.

“I also want to offer some of my power, because the world you will be entering is still dangerous, and you are very likely to die even with your foreknowledge. I can spare chakra, it will regenerate, and it will greatly boost your reserves. But it too, will come with a price.” He seemed to be judging me, judging my reaction. I could only stare, because my mind was spinning, running through possibilities and what all I could achieve, the best ways in doing so.

But at the mention of yet another price, I found myself once again asking what it would be. “Another price? What would it be?”

His eyes bore into me, and yes, this man is a living legend, I am a mere mortal in front of him, but knowing the terms of a deal are essential before signing the dotted line.

“If you don’t maintain your mental stability, the chakra can act up, do things on it’s own and hurt you and others around you. You will need to be able to control your emotions.” 

I smirked at that, because yes that was one of the few things I was good at. Anger generally didn’t cause me to lash out, I could think through and calm myself down. Other emotions could be strong, but they almost never got out of control. “I can do that.” There was nothing but confidence in my tone, I had been given a second chance to make a difference, I would essentially get to meta-game everything, hopefully it wouldn’t give me insanity points.

The Sage of Six Paths nodded, and with one hand motioned me forward. I didn’t hesitate, although walking as an ethereal form was disorienting.The black orbs around him had been rotating slowly, and as I got closer they sped up, only to halt suddenly.    
There was one orb that had left the orbit, it was level with my chest, and in one swift motion, more like a sucker punch to the chest, it hit.

All the light around me was gone, it had been dim before, but the sudden darkness reminded me of the pressure, the emptiness of where I was. This time it stayed back, there was more power, more light in me than the darkness could fight against. It was protecting me, keeping the darkness from taking over, and I was finally able to just exist.


	2. Bonds

Eventually the darkness gave way to warmth, and eventually I could hear my own heartbeat, a steady pitter patter, and finally something else to focus on. I could sort of feel, it was as if I were submerged in a hot tub that wasn’t hot, just regular body temperature.

I could hear, not really much, but things outside my cocoon were loud, I would prefer if they stopped being so loud. Eventually I could feel everything around me shift, muscles were trying to move me out, and I really didn’t want to go, there was far too much noise on the other end of that tunnel and I enjoyed being warm.

I had gotten very used to the warm energy inside me, which I knew was chakra. It would be in everything, everyone, so I was glad I had gotten used to it. It wasn’t an itch, it was just warm energy that was always coursing through my body.

My bubble continued to shift, and eventually I was forced out, one final heave from my incubat- mother. Mother, that was what I meant.

Cries left my lips because yes, it was very loud and very bright. I could tell there were too many people around me, talking, muttering, writing things down. I heard a feminine voice, I knew it would probably be my mother, and just thinking that feels odd. I was handed over after being wiped down, and only when I was near her did I stop crying.

Looking at her only revealed a blob, skin color with some black on top. She kept saying “Gin, watashi no hoseki, hoseki.” In the background I heard chakra repeated several times, and I cursed myself for never learning Japanese, it had been a goal I never worked towards.

We remained the the hospital for a day or so, and despite barely being able to see, I could tell it was at least a nice hospital, no machines beeping, because seals are the common equivalent here.

Time passed there, and eventually Mother was well enough to get discharged. Something about her seemed off, sure I could understand nothing she said, but it all sounded rushed, erratic. Like she was talking to other things that weren’t there, because she would have conversations when there were no nurses around.

It was a concern, but there was nothing I could do about it. If she was seeing things, I was at least glad I had the peace of mind to know it wasn’t real.

Flashes of my younger brother, four at the time, declaring he saw demons because my mother claimed they were there, no. I wouldn’t let that happen, and when I had a chance I would get her help.

Mother wasn’t something I wanted to ever call her, it brought back unpleasant memories. Oka-san was a word I recognized, although I wasn’t sure that the usage would be accurate. Depictions of asian culture in shows, both live action and anime, had a way of twisting the meaning of words, and seeing as it would be the language I needed to use 24/7, I needed to learn it correctly.

As we left, the only thing I could comprehend around me was light, it was bright, and it was loud. Birds chirped, there was screaming and laughter from other children, the pitch irked me to the bone. Somehow Okaa-san caught onto it, and started cooing at me, talking in repetitive sentences once more.

“Sugu ni watashi no hoseki, sugu ni. Anata wa sugu ni muryō ni narimasu.” Her tone was calm but still rushed, she was trying not to let anyone else hear. There was definitely something odd going on. But nothing I could change.

\--

Okaa-san kept me indoors, but she left the windows opened and allowed sunlight, which allowed the aggravating children screaming to make it into our home. I was able to sleep however, and much of my time was spent alone in my crib. Okaa-san made clothing, as I was slowly able to see over my first couple of weeks in this world, it became apparent that I had been born low class. 

Determined to make a difference, I forced myself to try and get up, to try and speak, to do anything other than sit. There were demons and gods that wanted to toy with our lives, I needed to get started, but I couldn’t. My body tired out quickly, but eventually grew used to it. Genetics were different here, things could be sped up in one area, slowed down in another. I aimed to learn how to walk once I was strong enough, but I figured that would take a while.

Objects close up were visible enough for me to see, but backgrounds were still a blur. My crib seemed old, ancient, probably an antique, or just the cheapest one at the thrift store. Okaa-san seemed able to stitch, knit and there were probably more things she could do, but most of the time she sat and muttered under her breath. 

Instinctively she knew when I was hungry, and I had figured a way to let her know when a diaper change was in order. Thumping both of legs, stumps at this point, would rattle the mobile above my head, and when Okaa-san came over to look at what I wanted, I would thump my hand on my diaper. 

I tried to speak, everything that came out was a garbled mush, none of it formed words, but I was starting to learn words thanks to Okaa-san. Several times a week she would pull me from my crib, once I was able to sit up, and would show me things, words in books, how to say them. 

I wanted to learn, everything around me was a tool that I could use to get stronger faster, I needed the boost, I needed to move.

Chakra was something I had been blessed with before entering this world, I had been used to it before I was born, which meant I wasn’t terribly surprised that it was everywhere. I could tell where it was and wasn’t, but I didn’t have a finely tuned sense of who was who, where exactly they were. I could tell you if someone had used chakra in a certain area.

Discovering I could tell that was an odd moment, I had been zoned out, hypnotized by the circling of the mobile above, and I heard a massive thump, followed by  _ whoosh- _ I was so startled that I cried out, I couldn’t help it.The chakra was everywhere, tinged with coal and a spice I couldn’t place.

Okaa-san stuck her head out the window, and from her yelling I made out a few words,  _ Uchiha, katon jutsu- _ and I knew what had happened. Most likely a spar, jumping over roofs of civilians, someone fell and spit out a weak fire jutsu, releasing their chakra. The coal and spice that it seemed to feel like, that was just fire elemental chakra.

It dispersed as quickly as it happened, leaving me sniffing my nose and wiping it with my pudgy hands in frustration.

Time was hard to keep track of, since Okaa-san was able to make clothes and sell them to merchants to sell, she spent a lot of time with me, in her home. It wasn’t much, but there was one bedroom for her, and I was in what seemed to be her craft room. I had known how to knit before, and crochet, so seeing the fabric and thread made me want to start an old habit again, but I was far too young. 

Okaa-san had already caught on that I wanted to learn quickly. I had been pushing myself to sitting up, then rolling around, and then working on my arm strength so I could push myself up. It was fair to say I didn’t sit still, only when Okaa-san gave me books, children books sure, but it was material to read.

There were pronunciations with some basic words, and since I knew what words sounded like what, well, I picked it all up very quickly.

My first word was ‘Okaa-san’, and it was one I worked on when Okaa-san was in the bathroom or talking to a seller, I whispered it, until I knew it felt right.

An opportunity would present itself, it had to. I didn’t want to just say the word and it mean nothing. I knew Okaa-san cared for me, did all she could. My clothing was homemade, I mostly had tunics and pants underneath because I would throw a fit if I didn’t have them, but she did everything she could for me. I wanted it to mean something.

\--

Time had gone quickly, my eyes snapped open, a weight was on my chest, pressing crushing the air out of me.

Acid, fire, hatred, and abomination was in my lungs, my pores. Pushing my lungs, the air left my lips, a truly bloodcurling scream, my own ears rang from it. 

_ No, I can’t cry. _ Pulling it in, the mobile above me swayed, followed by my crib. 

Pain in my arm, but not worse than the time I jammed my fingers before, or tripped on a skateboard. Phlegm from my chest fought to be out, I coughed, the carpet at my face didn’t turn red so it wasn’t a lung injury. My arms protested at me pushing, my legs giving into gravity sent a pounding pain to my head.

That was how I was for the entirety of the Kyuubi attack. 

The chakra left, I jerked my eyes open. My limbs no longer felt tied down to gravity, one arm in front of the other I crawled around my crib. 

_ Okaa-san where were you- _

Curled in a ball, Okaa-san no longer looked like Okaa-san. Long black hair had become matted, Her pupils were almost non-existent.

The moment she saw me, a different sensation, settled over me. My eyelids were becoming heavy, I had been fighting the pressure of the demon fox so long, a nap was on the horizon.

The sensation remained,  _ nap, nap, sleep little jewel, you need not see what will happen to me- _

I lifted my head and raised my hand to my face, then pulled back, imagine a rubber band-  _ my hand stinging red _ \- my face burned but I was awake, aware.

Wide eyed Okaa-san stared at me, it wasn’t what she had imagined. It wasn’t what I wanted it to be, fear in her eyes. It dawned on me, the sensation of  wanting the nap, the small  _ you need not see- _

Okaa-san had been putting me under a genjutsu. 

“Okaa-san-” The words were meant to sound hopeful, more, oh there you are, I didn’t notice what just happened. But Okaa-san knew, knew that I was much smarter than I should be. 

My arms had been under me, and in a mere instant I was one with the carpet, my tears finally getting wiped off.

I was crying and I had told myself not to, I was being weak, I needed to not be. I wanted to help Okaa-san escape this kind of life.

Heat filled my chest, not chakra but anger, emotion, and as I felt it I remembered-

_ Must control emotions- _

The anger became heat, suffocating like Kyuubi which lingering amounts were still nearby. It wasn’t letting me push it down, it wasn’t repressing like my anger had before, like my self loathing and sadness used to.

There was a creak behind me, followed by a flash, something had been thrown.

There was a separate thump, and I could only stare, Okaa-san had something in her chest she shouldn’t have, it was metal and  _ sharp and copper, iron, blood seeped from the wound, slowly reaching the hem of her neck line. _

I was a baby, I didn’t even know if I was six months old. Crawling and could speak, sort of understand things around me.

My legs were no longer weak, the rest of me was light.

I stood, pudgy legs and baby fat, and turned to see the one person that I loved and hated at the same time.

I also said my second word, just because.

“O-bee-to.” I tried to take a step forward, and there was a flash of red.

_ Blood red, rivers flooding the banks, fish dying from the toxicity-  _

I was no longer home, I was in a field, at first alone, then Obito just was. And he was Obito, as I remember him from the show, except his clothing was more ragged, he seemed bruised and in pain.

I was not a child, no I was as I was before. Short blonde hair, short stature, not even one hundred pounds. Wearing my favorite color, my favorite hoodie,  _ from my sister. _ And as I brought my arms to my face, I could smell it, it was home, it was the body spray I used, a conglomerate of smells that range from sweet to sour like candy.

My sleeves absorbed my tears, but not the sobs. My life that I had, I had been nothing, and here I was also nothing. I would remain nothing, I could get squished in an instant. The pain and the guilt I had buried, it wasn’t staying underground now.

\--

Obito stood, watching the child, no  _ woman _ , who seemed to be trapped in an infants body.

And somehow she knew him. Sure the infant had said his name  _ very  _ much like a child, but the child couldn’t be more than 9 months old. He knew she wasn’t.

Madara would be incensed with him when he returned, he was to kill the Fourth, and the child, but something about the glassy silver eyes, the blank look on the infants face, caused him to reconsider.

Madara said the child was a threat, a variable being thrown in that he didn’t want to account for, but there was rebellion in his heart. 

This child seemed able to care, able to care as his Rin had, and what if this really was his Rin? Reborn into a child-

There was no way she should know who he was in either case, but it made more sense if it was Rin, maybe she had been watching and wanted to see him again, realizing he was better than the scum-  _ the complete and utter trash _ \- that was the Kakabastard-

He had faith that the girl would care.

Madara however wanted the child’s blood, and he was not willing the risk the consequences of lying quite yet. The child would bleed, as the woman in front of him was sobbing her eyes out. She wasn’t Rin, but Rin could have lived another life since she died, Obito thought she was a woman but she looked young, he wanted to hope.

So Obito hoped.

\--

The masked man walked over to the sobbing infant, stepped over her, and tore the kunai out of her mother.

The mother had been a nuisance since she had that  _ blasted  _ dream about the man with ten orbs, saying how her daughter would try to help save the world, how she would help set everyone free. She was no shinobi, although she was from a lineage of shinobi, not quite Uchiha, but the child could be inclined enough to possibly aid in their fight later on.

The man bent down, gently holding the infants hand, and rolled the sleeve of her tunic to her elbow. No one would be able to look at the man and see the regret, only that he paused, maybe to find a way to kill the babe from a cut there, but in reality the man was aiming to cut shallow enough to allow a recovery.

As the man carved his mark on the infant, he pressed his thumb into the kunai on the other side, and retraced the cut with his bloody thumb.

He was determined to make a bond, this time he wanted it to last.

The man finally had hope.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Heyo fellow friends, here is another chapter. I'm grateful to the kudos and comment, I want to write this story and make it something that can compare to the legends that are Dreaming of Sunshine (go read that first if you haven't) and Vapors (which has a second part, go read this one too. Feels for days.).  
> I just want to write something that can keep other people similar to myself up through a night, because the story in engaging and not complete crap.   
> The beginning might be a bit slow, with some short chapters, but stuff should be getting longer here on out.  
> My goal is to try and update at least once a week, but it depends on how my work lets me waste my time.   
> I can at least plan it out, Take too much caffeine like I did the night before I wrote all this, and just write.
> 
> To anyone who wants to start writing, don't wait. If you have an idea, go with it. Try to make it your own, and if people hate how you write then try and write better, not to their standards but to yours. I'm trying to work on my writing style and keep it in my own standard, but if anyone has criticism please feel free to share, I doubt I'll get mad.  
> If I make a mistake let me know, I want to fix them and make this as awesome of a story as I can.
> 
> I do not own Naruto, I just live through my life wishing it owned me.


	3. Orphans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not updating sooner, I had most of it typed up, but withdrawls from medicine makes doing things hard. I'm fine now, and I still have the story planned out and all, and I'm going to try and get up the next chapter soon since I missed last weeks, but hey life happens sometimes.  
> If you have criticism, comment or message me, I am human and I make mistakes, and if something is wrong please tell me, I want to make my writing better, so I appreciate any feedback I can get.
> 
> K

The woman watched as the masked man retreated, leaving her child unconscious on the carpet. The warning signs had been there, a child too perceptive, too curious about the world. Her ancestors were turning in their graves, incensed she didn’t prepare her child for the trying times ahead.

There was one thing she could do, one thing that would ensure her daughter would be okay. 

The clans power was always borrowed from the man, he wanted them to change things, save people. Her ancestors told story of a child to be born, a child with knowledge. With each birth they had hoped the blessed child would be born, only to be disappointed.

The clan had been almost wiped clean, and now the woman’s daughter was the only remaining descendent, but as she was the blessed child, she would be the one with the true power to save.

But until then, she was in danger of allowing her own anger to well up, consume her, trap her in her own mind. The clan has specific skills that allow the anger to be harnessed, saved and then get used later on. The knowledge was passed down, even with the death of their ancestors. For now the only thing the woman could do was hand down her locket, it would keep her child safe until she could learn how to harness the power given to her.

From there she could learn the powers passed down, but only if she made it through the dark times to come.

The woman slowly made her way over to her daughter, tears streaming down her face. Her child was also crying, the woman’s own pain welled up in her chest, wanting to be let free. She carefully unclasped the locket from her own neck, and put it on her daughter. 

The anger and emotion welled up again, nothing to contain it. 

There was one thing she could do for her daughter now, let her sleep, rest. She would need all the rest she could get in the days to come.

Changing the emotion from anger to love took concentration, seconds passed as the woman focused. When her eyes opened, they had a faint glow, unlike her daughters silver eyes, hers were the color of sapphires, the glow added depth. She gently touched her daughters forehead, and was relieved to see her breathing even out, the tears ceased, finally resting.

The woman closed her eyes, and finally gave in to the emptiness in her mind.

\--

My tears burned my face, it all hurt so much, but I couldn’t stop crying. I was in the grassy field, and Obito’s presence had long disappeared. Not much time passed before the emotion ebbed away, and was replaced by a calm feeling, and I drifted off.

My crib was next to me, I stood at what my height had been, and I saw Okaa-san wandering around. It occured to me that she wasn’t poor, she was stressed, the clothing she made seemed to be mostly to keep her busy. 

The area around me faded to show a village, I couldn’t determine the size from where I was, but I saw Okaa-san talking to what must have been a merchant. She was grinning from ear to ear, her hand resting on what could only be me, her stomach bulging out. Behind me I heard explosions, followed by a hail storm of kunai and shuriken. Okaa-san barely hesitated in trying to escape, mere seconds later a masked man stood where she had been.

It had to be Obito, there were flames around him, indicating there were others with him attacking. Watching was all I could do, but him standing there made me wonder why he didn’t just kill me. He had been after Okaa-san, had killed her even, but left me there to see it all. It had probably been on orders from the madman that was Madara, but he had done it all the same.

\--

Squads of chunin and jonin were sent to find dead bodies, mostly in the area around the Kyuubi attack, but from the tremors and havoc wreaked in the village itself there were deaths that needed to be accounted for. It was a squad of chunin who walked into the apartment of a clothes merchant, known to sew high quality gear for shinobi and civilians who worked in rougher trades. The merchant hadn’t gone to identify she wasn’t hurt, as was protocol after an attack of this scale. The team wasn’t shocked to see that the merchant had died, but unlike the other twenty or so dead bodies the team had already collected, the merchant hadn’t died of an accident.

There was a deep wound in her chest, but no weapon was found nearby. Her daughter was curled up next to her, holding a now lifeless hand, sleeping soundly, despide the gore next to her.

Two of the chunin ran outside, bile making its way up, a child laying next to a corpse, not bothered in the slightest. The chunin that remained noticed a gash on the child's hand, it had bled a decent bit but not enough to alarm him. 

He sighed, and carefully unclasped the infants hand from its mother, only for the child to grip onto one of his fingers. He pulled out a corpse scroll, and sealed the child’s mother, then marked it with his blood,  _ suspicious death _ , and stored the scroll in his bag. He carefully picked up the child, who continued to grip his hand.

He assumed the child was a girl, as she was wearing a pink tunic with brown pants. Her hair was short, ink black and matted hair, blood from herself and her mother. While the chunin hoped she hadn’t been awake during the attack or death of her mother, he still knew this event would likely traumatize the child. 

Upon exiting the apartment, his teammates finally gathered their bearing.

“She needs hospital treatment, I’ll take her there and you two can take the normal corpse scrolls to the mission desk, I’ll handle this one.” The two paled, nodded, and jumped off the balcony, wanting nothing to do with the strange child.

\--

Lord Third looked down upon the child, she had been admitted to the hospital before he got the report from the chunin who found her.

Gin Meta, the last person of her clan, likely saw who killed her mother, but at this age there was no way she would be able to describe who it was, or even comprehend what had happened. He decided that her condition should be monitored in the nursery at the hospital, and if she showed no odd behaviour, she would go to the orphanage until she was able to join the academy. Her mother had left her a rather large sum of money, which she would receive in allotments once she was out of the orphanage and started training. Upon graduation she would be able to have full access to the account, but until then it would remain fairly untouched.

\--

The comforting presence around me faded, leaving the scent of disinfectant and thin blankets, barely keeping me warm. There were white walls around me, I was grateful I wasn’t hooked up to any machines, or IV’s. I could tell there were people nearby, I wasn’t in my own room.

There were curtains pulled around the bed, indicating I was probably in an area that people were just resting. I was still very small, which meant that trying to climb out of the hospital bed would only result in me hurting myself. 

That left me bored, sitting with nothing to do and no way to call a nurse. My hand had a scar, which had certainly not been there before. Tracing my fingers on it, it had been somewhat deep, but it wasn’t sore. The fact that it scarred meant it went untreated for a short amount of time. 

I played with my chakra, because odd chakra pulsing would hopefully get someone to let me free soon, and was rewarded with exactly that.

A nurse came rushing in, looking alarmed, and saw that I was simply sitting up waiting for someone. She went to pick me up and carry me, I surprised her instead.

“I can walk, please set me down.” My voice was quiet, and as I had yet to really hear myself speak, I wasn’t surprised that she jumped, and reluctantly set me on my feet. I carefully waddled after her, it was obvious I had walked very little before, but seeing as I had been able to stand and start walking before I went out, I wasn’t surprised I could walk. I was wearing a purple tunic shirt, with the same brown pants I always wore, and sandals that I had never owned before. 

The nurse led me to what could only be described as the nursery, where other infants and toddlers sat on rugs and played with blocks, mundane mind numbing toys. There was a bookshelf with a number of books, of which no other kids were trying to read or look at, which made me all the happier. I stumbled over and looked at the books. None of them were the same kind of books Okaa-san had let me read, they were elementary color, animal, boring things on the shelf closest to me. On a higher shelf there were stories, and I figured that would be my best bet at learning how to read faster.

I ended up having a routine while I was in the hospital. I figured they were keeping an eye on me, after everything that had happened. I generally sat and tried to read, other infants a children tried to get me to play with them, I just stared at them until they left me alone. The nurses started to get curious as to why I was reading mostly, and they ended up humoring me in my learning. I would point to a character, and they would describe what it meant and how to pronounce it. 

After losing pages of notes, on colored construction paper, one nurse took pity on me and gave me a notebook that I could write it all in. They saw me write in it after they explained a character to me, but I didn’t let them look at it, as a lot of it was in english, to better help me learn the language, until I didn’t need to have notes in that language anymore.

I wanted to play with my chakra, get a better sense of how to manipulate it, but the medics and nurses were so aware of when I tried to use it that I thought better of it. So I spent months learning, and otherwise being bored out of my mind.

\--

Lord Third was in the nursery one morning when I got there, he was looking at one of the books on the bookshelf, one that was actually folk tales, which the Sage of Six Paths was included. He turned as I entered the room, and I stopped, allowing him to walk over to me.

“Would you like to go for a walk Gin-chan?” His voice sounded compassionate, he was trying to comfort me, but I knew that he most likely had an underlying motive. I feared he did at least.

He meant well, but he overlooked things and undervalued the effect things could have on people, for example, allowing the village to treat Naruto like complete and utter crap. He could have stepped in, he already declared telling the boy the truth would be treason, why not add on that treating him like crap qualified as well.

Favoring the boy only caused people to dislike him more, he wasn’t doing an adequate job of protecting him.

I nodded my head, unsure if I should really speak or not. I tried not to, adults generally were shocked that I had the cognition to understand what was going on as well as I could.

He slowly led me outside, there was a garden in the back of the hospital, mostly for patients to walk around and relax. It seemed like my first time outside, it was bright and I didn’t really like it, but I didn’t have a choice. The Hokage sat on a bench first, I followed suit, jumping up and then hoisting myself onto the bench. I was still small, but I had easily grown a few inches, but I still had baby fat that I wanted to make disappear.

“The reports I have received indicate you are rather advanced. Already reading and seeming to plan ahead.” He didn’t say anything more, and I just let it hang in the air.

“Although you seem ahead of the other kids here, I’m aware your behavior is otherwise not alarming. From here you will be moving to the orphanage, and when you turn four you will start school at the academy.” He was looking through the garden, to the village and the people doing their daily business.

“Okay. Is that all Lord Hokage?” Quiet and soft, just as I imagined Okaa-san sounded, when she wasn’t worried or stressed. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, I just wasn’t sure how I should act around him.

He sighed, exasperation. He didn't’t know what to do with me. I wasn’t going to help him find out.

“Yes, I suppose so.” He stood up, and walked away from the hospital and into the streets of Konoha. 

I  continued to sit on the bench, mostly so I could think. If I was going to an orphanage from here, there were several possibilities. I could try to side with Naruto, but that would get me unwanted attention, not that I couldn’t handle it, but at the moment I wasn’t much of a fighter.

That would be the first thing I would change.

I carefully held Okaa-san’s locket, I didn’t put it on but I’ve had it since that night. There are intricate carvings on the outside of it, and the inside of the locket held a jewel, most likely a ruby, cut into the shape of the locket itself, a heart.

I was never going to take the locket off, it helped me stay calm. 

The other possibility, was that a certain old man, not the Hokage, but Danzo, could decide I was interesting. That would easily be the worst case. I could handle having to fight off children because I try to help Naruto, but I didn’t look forward to any encounter with the man that caused so much pain.

A nurse eventually came out to find me, and let me know that I was discharged. My things had been but into a bag, along with some extra clothing and a small amount of ryo. I followed the nurse back into the hospital, I wanted to say goodbye to the nurses that had helped me learn, that was more than I could have asked for, it kept me sane.

All I had to do was tug on their pants, they bent down on their own and let me hug them. It was a surprise for several of them, because I vocally said thank you to each of them, and only a few had ever heard me talk.

My main nurse found me in the nursery, holding the book of folk tales. She knew it was my favorite book, but she didn’t know why. There was a woman behind her, the woman in charge of the orphanage. 

“You have always loved that book.” The nurse bent down to be eye level with me. “You are able to read aren’t you?” She didn’t expect me to really respond, but I nodded, she had never been mean or cruel to me. Sometimes she would give me an extra cookie when I looked sad.

“Well then, I can’t bear to make you part with your favorite book. It’s yours Gin-chan, very few other kids are interesting in reading while they are here.” Her smile was wide, the happiness in her eyes genuine.

I threw myself forward, hugging her tightly. “Thank you one-san.” There were a few tears, absorbed by her scrubs, and she hugged me back, patting my back as well.

“Now, I’m going to introduce you to your caretaker okay?” She had pulled back, and I could tell she was sad to see me go. I nodded dejectedly.

She could offer to take care of me, but no, I was a child who would have problems, I would attract trouble. But I knew if I ever got hurt, I could find her and she would make sure I got help. I hoped that would extend to Naruto as well, because I was going to get as close to him as I could.

\--

There weren’t individual rooms, or even a few girls to a room. It was separated by gender, and it was a bay style set up. There weren’t bunk beds, as that would likely get us hurt. There weren’t nearly as many girls as there were boys, so our bay was considerably smaller.

There were chests at the foot of each bed, and each one had a lock and in my case, the key was laying on top of the chest. I put the key in, checked that it worked, and then opened it to put my things away. There was extra clothing, shoes, and basic hygiene products. I lowered the top, locked it, and decided I would put the key with my locket. 

I unclasped it from my neck, and strung the chain through the hole of the key. I heard a girl from the dining room area, she was yelling. It irritated me the moment it started.

“You’re a bastard! Don’t ever come near me!! Stupid blonde idiot.” She came stalking into the bay, shoulders hunched, her face was red from anger. I knew exactly who she was referring to, and boy did I want to kick her in the ovaries. We might not have balls that would hurt if we got kicked there, but it would still hurt. I glared at her as I put my locket back on, and as it clasped I felt a calmness take over, I was safe, I had my locket.

She noticed my glare, “What do you want, looking for a fight?” 

I only rolled my eyes and walked past her, there was no point making a fight with someone who was only lashing out due to their own insecurities. Outside of the girls area I saw a blonde boy, as young as I was, baby fat still prominent on his features, but there were tears welling in his eyes.

He had curled up into a corner of the room, every part of me was saying to leave it be, since interacting with him and trying to befriend him so soon would drastically chan ge things, but I didn’t care.

One of the nurses from the hospital had given me some candy, at this moment I remembered it was in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and pulled out some wrapped taffy, and walked over to the small blonde boy, determined to befriend him.

I crouched next to him and handed him the candy, at least I tried to. I felt his eyes, he didn’t quite trust me. I didn’t blame him.

“I’ll split it with you. It’s the last piece I got from a nurse.” I expected him to nod his head, but he didn’t. Abruptly I was being pushed down, and he was running out of the orphanage. I wasn’t upset, he was a child and he was scared. So many people had treated him like trash, I didn’t blame him for not trusting me.

I knew he wouldn’t immediately trust me, he had already been treated so horribly, and his outlook on the world hadn’t even begun to develop.

\--

I was barely a year old sure, I actually wasn’t quite sure my exact age. I wanted to get ahead, start training, even if it was just running around.

Time flew by, the orphanage itself was a monotonous cycle, children would come and go, the few of us that were damaged or undesirable stayed until we could join the academy.

Naruto had still yet let me talk to him, as bizarre as it seemed. I would defend him when I could, especially when it came to the other boys trying to beat him up. They didn’t like him because of how the public treated him, monkey see monkey do, and they had learned to leave Naruto alone if I was nearby.

I wasn’t able to always be near him, there were numerous times I would see him slinking through alleyways with bruises, on a few occasions he had gashes. First aid was one of the things I picked up quickly, as it was the same from before, sterilize and wrap the wound, ensure there is enough pressure that the wound stops bleeding.

Naruto rarely let me treat his wounds, at first because he didn’t trust me, then later on because he resented that he couldn’t defend himself. Relying on a girl, one smaller than all the other boys, would probably irritate anyone.

I spent a lot of my time getting rid of my baby fat, mostly running through the village, getting in people way. I deliberately knocked over people that I had seen be cruel to Naruto, there was no remorse as I laughed while running off, any pain they felt from me knocking them down was deserved.

Naruto had to deal with clan kids also trying to beat him up, and my retribution on the younger generation of the clan kids angered not only their parents but siblings and cousins. I had to deal with them trying to corner me and do the same to me as they did to Naruto, but they never expected a two year old to outsmart them the way I tended to.

Numerous times they would try and corner me in an alleyway, dead ending on a high wall or fence, only for them to watch as I managed to scale the wall, mostly with momentum. I had nowhere near the control or chakra reserves to use that to get up the walls, but it was something I had been working on.

At the orphanage, their punishments of, write these lines, clean this floor, to try and get rid of my rebellious streak failed. The caretakers had been shocked that I could write the lines, and after trying to force me to clean as punishment, only for me to use cleaning solutions that resulted in similar reactions to mustard gas, or even the effect of pledge on hardwood floors, they gave up.

I suppose my rebellious streak only furthered Naruto’s, because he picked up on how I reacted to authority and mixed in his own variations. 

I wanted to befriend him, but he resisted being close to me in every way he could. We wouldn’t really speak to each other, I would see that he had scrapes and he would either submit and let me clean them, or I would hold him down and force him to accept it.

We wouldn’t really talk at all to each other, primarily because he didn’t quite trust me, afraid that I would turn on him. He seemed to at least trust that I didn’t hate him like everyone else did, but I was mostly a terrifying force that kept the older kids from beating on him.

I wished I could do more, at least something to convince him that he could trust me, but he was still sullen and reserved.

One thing that had always eaten away at me in my past life, was seeing someone alone, with no friends and no one they felt they could trust. It had caused me to try and befriend them, because people mattered and no one deserved to feel alone.

The same idea powered my attempts to befriend Naruto, and when you add in what I know of his future, I became even more determined to befriend him.

\--

There was a girl with silver eyes, and Naruto didn’t trust her. Something about how she looked at him, like she knew him, knew how he thought, knew that he wanted a friend, made him not trust her.

But she fought the bigger kids for him, and when she wasn’t there to fight for him she would treat his wounds. There was no reason that she should know how to treat the wounds, but she knew things. She knew what would happen if you mixed bleach and ammonia, and after he had done it without thinking, she scolded him and told him that if he was going to do that, make sure he didn’t breathe in the fumes at least, and that only the adults would have to deal with the aftermath. 

She didn’t like to play, but she trained all the time, she had a focus that didn’t seem natural to Naruto. She didn’t play with dolls or wear dresses, unless it was the tunic style she had in different colors, which she wore pants underneath anyways, so it didn’t count.

When Naruto was sad, she would somehow have money, not much of course, they were orphans, but she would drag him to get either ramen or ice cream, depending on if she was also sad.

Not much made her sad, but Naruto noticed that she seemed to anger easily, her eyes would shine and she would glare, and then it would fade, and she would throw words at the adults, words Naruto couldn’t define, like bigot, fucktard, even cuntwaffle, all of which made no sense to him, and also seemed to confuse the people she was insulting.

Naruto did want to be friends with the odd girl, but she scared him. She could easily beat him up like the older kids, but she didn’t, she hung around him even though he didn’t trust her and didn’t talk to her.

Maybe he could start trusting her, but Naruto still wasn’t sure.


	4. Anger Management

My only indication that I turned three was a small pouch from the supposed caretaker, she had long since resented my existence. I figured the money was an annual amount of money I get, since I was young and all my other needs were supposedly taken care of.

I had seen the other girls get their ‘birthday present money’ and most of them went off and got something that was either too expensive and they either lost it or it was stolen, or bought useless things that served no purpose.

My mind had already been made up, I wanted to further my training more than get something that was pretty, or just something I would never use. Naruto had seen me get the money, I wondered then if he got the same, or if it was because of something to do with Okaa-san.

From wandering through the village I had found the stores that sold ninja gear, and while I wasn’t wanting weapons or anything, I wanted something I could use to train with. I detested the fact that it would make me look ridiculous, leg warmers and weights generally looked the same, but I wanted something that wouldn’t stand out a ton, preferably something I could wear under pants or even as leggings.

I spent several days trying to find the right thing, there were plenty of garish, bulky leg weights, but nothing that would be inconspicuous. There was a store near one of the ninja gear stores, it wasn’t quite as popular because it didn’t have standard weapons, it was more geared toward individual styled clothing and weapons that very few ninja were interested in.

I hadn’t planned on going inside to see if the gear I was searching for was in there, until I saw shin guards with seals etched into the metal, supposedly meant for weight training, which was exactly what I was looking for. I would prefer something that was more just leggings, but I could probably pull off the look by wrapping my ankles with gauze, and thigh length shorts.

I couldn’t see a price, so I quickly made my way to the door and slipped in, noting the bell that sounded, letting the shop owner know there was a customer. I inwardly groaned, most shop owners would see me enter their store, then hover around me, as if they expected me to steal their goods. In a village of ninja, I had no chance of outrunning whatever passerby decided to take pursuit, the only area worth stealing from were the markets, where there were so many people and children running around, the merchants had no real way of telling who knocked into them and emptied their pockets.

But this shop owner didn’t seem to care, as I hurried over to the shin guards to inspect the craftsmanship and price, only to pale at the sight of the price tag. It wasn’t overly expensive, but there was no way that I had been given that amount of ryo, not for a three year old set to start learning in a year.

The shin guards themselves were sturdy, they wouldn’t make you sacrifice speed for protection, both elements remained. I hadn’t taken a close look at how much I had been given, and I quickly decided to count it all out.

The small pile of coins amounted to 15,000 ryo, which back in my world was around 15 dollars, and here it would be enough to buy a pretty necklace or bracelet, as the other orphan girls had done, but seeing as the shin guards were 50,000, I didn’t have much of a chance of affording them anytime soon.

I figured there was a chance there were just leggings somewhere in the store, since most of the gear seemed specialized and seals were used in a lot of the merchandise. There were basic shirts and pants, made of a material that would keep you from sweating too much, and dried quickly for when you did. There were also holsters, but some of them had seals that probably held items, which meant you could have extra kunai or even swords sealed away until they were needed in combat. 

I decided I really liked this store.

I was staring at the holster, along with a belt that had storage seals, both of which I wanted, along with the shin guards, but between the two I could afford it was a tough decision.

I didn’t get to decide.

The old man who owned the store had walked up behind me, towering over my three year old height. 

“I could use some help around the store you know, and then you can earn a bit to get the gear you want.” From his tone it sounded as if he was pondering the decision, but I was surprised he didn’t seem to hate me.

I turned to look at him, he had a pipe between his lips, and he was wearing plain clothing, he had more wrinkles than there were supplies in his store. “How did you-”

His chuckle cut me off.

“I could tell by the look in your eyes, not only that, but I’ve seen you running through the streets, wreaking havoc, and this might be a way to curb those tendencies.” He inhaled through his pipe and blew out a slow breath. “You have quite the bloodline to prove after all, I can’t let your grandparents down.”

My anger was immediate and consuming, and before it had a chance to fade like it always did, I glared at him.

“I don’t know who you think you are Oji-san, but you don’t know me or my family.” The anger fled, leaving the empty void, and I continued to look from the belt to the holster.

“You are very like your mother aren’t you Gin-chan? She always did anger quickly, even with the necklace she passed down to you. She must have known it wouldn’t keep your anger contained for long… Bah. Come, have tea with me gaki, there are things that need to be discussed.”

I could only gawk at him as he walked away, holding his pipe in one hand, and he was probably aware of my shock.

I carefully set the holster and belt back with their counterparts, and turned, walking slowly towards the old man that was flipping the open sign, and locking the door into the shop.

This was all very suspicious and I felt the urge to leave, to unlock the door and not deal with this old man.

He claimed to know who I was, who Okaa-san was and even her parents. I had no foreknowledge of my family, nothing I could base his assumptions on. I hadn’t realized my family would be anything important, I figured I had been born into a boring family unit. Even with Tobi killing Okaa-san-  _ Idon’tthinkofthatdayOkaa-sanisokay-  _ I hadn’t let myself think of that day and what it meant for who I was.

I carefully followed him, he led me up a staircase and into what must be his house above his store. There was a small sitting room, immediately connected to a small kitchen. I could see two doors down a hallway on the other side of the room from the staircase, but I simply sat at the small table, meant mostly for one person.

The old man put water into a kettle and put it on the stove, the clicking of a gas burner, and then walked over and took his seat opposite me.

“You probably have questions. I would prefer if you listened to me speak first, then ask your remaining queries.” He took another puff of his pipe, then continued. “My name is Keizo, and I knew your grandparents. They fled to Konoha for asylum due to the death threats their clan had been receiving from an organization.”

Keizo stared me down, his coal eyes glinting, there were coils of smoke coming from his pipe. I sat with my legs crossed, hands in my lap. It felt as if this was a moment that would come to bite me in the ass later on if I didn’t pay attention. Information about my family, which I had assumed was full of normal civilians. Assuming is not something you want to do, not when so many things can go wrong.

As I was berating myself for my lack of attention to detail, of course there could be something to do with my family, that’s how it seemed to be with any character in the series. There was always something that made them stand out, and I didn’t want a reason to stand out.

I did my best to seem indignant, belligerent and just an overall nuisance. If there was something that made me stand out more, then it was likely that the wrong people would start sniffing around, find out that I was much smarter than I should be. I didn’t want to be labeled a prodigy, the last prodigy I knew of was Itachi and he got roped into one of the worst kinds of situations you could imagine.

The kettle let out a shrill screech, I jumped slightly and felt a chill go down my spine. I needed to pay attention, the information I was going to be privy to could benefit me, and I needed to figure out how to hide things for a few more years. 

I could handle graduating early, but I didn’t want to become a genin at six or seven, that was far too early. There was research I wanted to look into, mostly on sealing, and being slated as a prodigy and graduating early would mean missions, which meant no time to learn about the things I want.

Keizo got up and silenced the tea kettle, and poured some hot water into mugs, then brought them over. Tea leaves were floating in the hot water, spiraling from the momentum of the water being poured. He sat down again, and continued his dialogue.

“They brought their daughter with them, your mother. They feared she would be killed by the organization, and bringing her here was the only thing that kept her safe, that kept you safe. She went to visit the village, and ended up becoming pregnant, your father being one of the best seal masters of your village and the son of the clan head.”

My mind was whirling, my family, clan, had something to do with sealing. Sealing, the thing I was most interested in learning and mastering. The family I had been born into was perfect for what I needed.

It seemed too good to be true, so I was waiting for the punchline. It was probably chance that my supposed father was the sealing prodigy in my village. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had low standards, so for all I knew he could write explosive tags and that was their seal master.

No reason to get my hopes up, no reason to think I could have an edge in sealing already. It wasn’t likely, and there was no point in letting myself believe delusions.

Keizo once again sighed, resigned to the tale he was telling. “While your mother was in the village, the organization that threatened to kill her razed the village, your mother barely made it out alive. That day flipped a switch in her, she became more paranoid, moved out of her parents house into an apartment, where she wanted to raise you like a regular child.”

My eyes were tearing up, because I had family, but they no longer existed on this plane with me. I couldn’t fathom why it made me sad, not until I realized it had been due to my previous life, where I had been in foster care and adopted, I hadn’t had family then to back me up either. It seems I was destined to go through the world alone.

Kicking and screaming, that was how I would go through this life, I was going to do everything I could to help people. I reached for the mug, grateful for the warmth, it had suddenly gotten cold in the room. 

Taking a sip, I was relieved to taste nothing but pure sugar, slight tea flavor sure, but so much sugar it took me back. I forced myself to sip, to not drink it all quickly like I wanted to.

Keizo was smiling slightly as he watched me, and I looked up and gave him a slight glare.

“Your mother enjoyed her tea with copious amounts of sugar too.” He chuckled, finding something about it satisfying. I frowned and had another sip, then set the mug back down.

I couldn’t help myself, “Sugar helps the brain process and interpret things. More sugar equals more brain power old man.” I looked away from him and off towards a small window, which was letting in sunlight.

Keizo let out raucous laughter, causing me to jump and scowl deeper.

“Ahah! You are so like your mother child.” He went quiet again, and this time I figured it was because of the next part, where my mother was killed.

“When you were barely half a year old, someone infiltrated the village, to kill your mother and yourself, but they also took care of your grandparents, completely severing you from any familial ties.” I looked up to meet his eyes, and there was endless pain.

He had been close to my family, and their demise hurt him, and the pain that he was caused was pain I wanted to redirect to the source.

“Your grandparents came to me for gear, gear that they added your clans sealing to. The sealing is unlike any other sealing, and only clan members are able to utilize it. For others, it’s simply intricate carvings in metal, which I know has something to do with your clan, but they never told me, as I wasn’t part of the clan.”

“The sealing itself is able to channel specific emotions or physical sensations. I made weapons that your clan would etch the seals onto, back in your home village. I know certain metals have specific uses for it, but I don’t know what all does what. I can give you the schematics for the metals they had me use, but it’s of little use without knowing much about the seals.”

I could only stare at him. It was a lot, sealing, along with what the sealing would allow me to do, it was a lot. I would be able to do so many things, but with no information on what seals went with what, I would be shooting in the dark for a while.

I would try to figure it out, but there wasn’t much chance I would be able to use it the same way my clan had. 

I tilted my head slightly, lost in thought, as I had an idea.

“Say, Keizo-san, did my  grandparents have a home here? Like an actual house?” I was hoping they had, if they were from a clan there was a chance they would be somewhat rich.

Keizo stared into space for a moment before nodding. 

“I believe they did, it would have been cleaned and closed up, but it should still be in your clans name. I wouldn’t be able to help you find it, the Hokage has access to the house.”

I scowled and nodded, hoping that when I started going to the academy I would get a chance to live there, not in a ratty apartment around people that wouldn’t like me.

I continued to sit with Keizo, sipping my sugary tea, as he offered me a chance to earn money by helping out in his store, and he would allow me to pay what I could that day for the shin guards. I would have a chance to earn money if business was good, otherwise he would teach me how to wield some of the weapons he had in stock.

He wasn’t a ninja, but he knew the basics with katanas and daggers, enough to help me learn what stances were best. 

As I got up to leave, he pulled out a small notebook, the notes on what metals he used for my clans weapons.

When I was back at the orphanage, my nose was buried in the notebook, trying to understand why  _ iron, brass and copper _ , were specifically written in their periodic letters, and why certain alloys of each specifically mattered. The copper had to be an exact ratio, but for what reason I couldn’t imagine.

I had gotten the shin guards, and was wearing them when the other girls, the babies ran into the room whispering.

It was a set of sisters, I knew neither of their names. They wore ridiculous dresses, where they had gotten the money for it I have no clue. They were set to be pampered civilians, and they tried to be cruel to the other girls around my age. They glanced at each other again, and giggled in an annoying pitch. 

It was still light enough outside to not be around, so I unlocked my trunk, and placed the book in, keeping the two girls in my peripheral. As I pulled my locket back out, since the key to the trunk was on the chain, the two girls moved closer to me. I quickly locked the trunk, and went to put the locket back under my many layers of shirts, one of the girls grabbed the necklace, and pulled on it. I went with it, because I didn’t want to risk the chain breaking.

I grabbed the girls arm. She was a little bigger than I was, being four years old to my three, until she let go there wasn’t much I could do.

“Oh look! This locket is so pretty! Did your Mom give it to you before she choked on her own blood?” There was a glint in the girls eyes as she said it. I felt detached from the moment, as if I couldn't feel the anger I knew was there, but it was welling up and dissipating. “Oh oops, auntie told me not to say anything. Man, she was supposed to pick us up this morning.” The girl put on a fake frown, obviously not caring.

Her sister decided to chime in. “I’m really glad we have family we get to go stay with, living here for a while would suck wouldn’t it, Tomo-chan?” Her sister nodded in response, and pulled on my locket. I gripped her arm tighter, applying more pressure.

I was a child, I had been mostly working on my punching power and speed, when it came to situations where adults could swoop in, and for these two they probably would, I wasn’t sure how to act.

“I bet your mom was glad she choked on blood. I would hate to have you as a sister, I couldn’t imagine being your mom.” On her last syllable, she tugged hard on the chain.

I felt it snap, and with the snap, my anger stopped dissipating. 

I pulled on her arm roughly, causing her to tumble forward, and slammed my head into hers, along with pulling her down to the ground and twisting her arm. My other hand slammed down on the hand holding the locket, and she released the locket. I took it from her as she cried in pain, and sat on her back.

While all of this happened, her sister had ran off to get the caretaker, who quickly ran in, yelling something about using words for conflict instead of fighting.

She might have also yelled something about Anbu, I wasn’t quite sure, because as soon as it registered, there was darkness around me.

\--

The anger welled, bubbled and demanded my attention. I could do nothing but focus on it, give the demanded attention. I tried to form it into something, give it direction.  I was in the void, empty and alone, always alone.

I wanted a connection, to feel not as alone.  The direction of the thought, towards me not being alone, started to take form and manifest. Bubbling anger went into one idea, companionship.

The area around me was no longer just darkness, There was a glow from somewhere, but the source was unknown. My arms were wrapped around my legs, pulled up against my chest.

I had been angry and scared, and now I just was.

The ground around me seemed wet, but it was just reflective. From the corner of my eye I saw movement, and I turned to see a girl, who looked like myself, except her eyes were off.

Mine had depth, a slightly darker gray pupil, hers were a flat shade, mimicking the Yamanaka family. She was wearing a red tunic, with gray leggings, and just the sight of her sent chills down my spine.

She suddenly smiled, and promptly skipped over to where I was sitting and scrunched down.

“I’m anger. I shouldn’t exist, but until you find a way to store me like you were before, I’m your back up alarm.”

None of that made any sense, but with all I learned of my clan, it wasn’t something that seemed impossible. It seemed similar to Inner Sakura, which meant it would probably exist until I could fulfill whatever quota she had mentioned.

“What do you mean, store you like I was before? I wasn’t doing anything.” She was smiling at me, a little smirk that meant she knew things and didn’t feel like telling me.

“Well, your mother’s locket was very important to you, and you rarely ever took it off. I would start there. But if you get too angry, I won’t be able to hold onto all of it. It will seep into you, and put not only yourself but anyone around you at great risk.”

She suddenly stood up, and turned to look into the emptiness. It was as if she could see something I wasn’t privy to, and it irritated me.

I stood jerkily, and glared at her as she turned to look at me.

“Time to wake up sleepyhead.”

\--

Darkness became a bright consuming light, I squinted as I took in my surroundings. There was an Anbu standing in the corner of the room, probably staring into space, but also tracking whatever movement was going on nearby, assessing my response to waking up in a hospital room.

There was white gravity defying hair, and a mask that made it hard to breathe for several moments. I tore my gaze away from the guard,  _ Kakashi- the greatest nin that was _ , and saw my shoes sitting on the floor next to the bed. I was glad to see that I still had my regular clothing, but my locket was nowhere to be seen. Anger flared, but I pushed back and kept it from making me act, I needed to know what was going on before I acted.

One breathe in, one breathe out.

Swinging my legs over the side of the bed made me realize that I had been hit fairly hard, as a headache took over and thrummed through the anger. I would much rather just sleep than deal with whatever was going on, but I didn’t have a choice at this stage.

As I slipped my shoes on and secured the buckle I pondered what had happened to the sister who tried to take my necklace, I was actually hoping she was in pain, maybe a broken wrist. Then I recalled that I had headbutt her, and my headache made much more sense. I turned to the Anbu,  _ Kakashi- _ and wasn’t shocked when he put his hand on my shoulder.

I knew the world was supposed to spin, and with the spinning there was a sensation I was familiar with. Before, before this life, I would spin on tire swings, or whatever sit’n’spin toy there was and tilt my head, which I later learned was causing an inner ear imbalance, but when I was younger it seemed to tickle, I would laugh and relish in the feeling. 

I held in the laughter, but for some odd reason it made me feel a little bit better. Until the world stopped spinning, because to me it still was, and I was forced to shake my head in order to get rid of the sensation.

Anbu was knocking on a door, there was a secretary to my right that looked exhausted and wilted under her stacks of paperwork. I surmised that we were going to speak to the Hokage. I couldn’t hear a response, but when the Anbu walked in, I followed.

The caretaker was in the room, along with the Hokage. She was irate, raving about how my behavior was a bad example for the other children, how I was a menace to society for acting like the terror I was.

As I walked in she stopped yelling and turned to glare at me. I couldn’t help the next words that came out of my mouth, I wanted to say it, so I did.

“If you wouldn’t look at myself and Naruto-kun the way you do, I can assure I wouldn’t be as much of a brat as you are a bitch.” I could see the shock change to anger on her face, first at the fact that yes I could speak and noticed how she treated Naruto and myself, likely just because I tried to be friends with him, and then because I had used a foul word to describe her foul personality.

“Why you little-!”

“Hanato-chan, you need not worry about Gin-chan. You can go assure the girls aunt she will not be returning to the orphanage, please let me deal with this.” The Hokage sounded kind, but there was underlying anger, he was miffed that the woman was supposedly mean to Naruto, although it was inadvertently his own fault for making the subject around the boy taboo.

I turned my gaze to meet his as the woman left, I had never cared for her and was glad to never return to that hell of an orphanage. As she left the Hokage sighed, and tilted his head down slightly.

“Hokage-sama, I apologize for what I did but I don’t regret it. That locket is the only thing I have left of my mother, if she hadn’t broken the chain I wouldn’t have given her what she deserved.” I maintained eye contact, even though I could feel the pressure in the room increase. He was assessing me, assessing how I reacted to what had transpired.

To be fair I really wasn’t sorry, I probably would have given her a bloody nose had she just let go, I didn’t like people being near me, and she was a bit of a brat. If I had to do it again, I would probably pummel her more than I had, I wasn’t expecting to get knocked out as quickly as I had.

The Hokage nodded, and turned to look at something I couldn’t quite see on his desk. I was three, albeit a scrawny three year old, I had a lot of growing up to do still.

“I have managed to convince the civilian caretaker that putting you in an individual home, since you will be starting the academy soon. I understand you have done little to harm anyone else, however your behavior will no longer be tolerated.” He peered over the top of his reading glasses to give me a look, probably meant to show his displeasure, but all I saw was a weary old man in over his head.

The glowering wouldn’t work with me, I had dealt with angrier adults in both of my lives. This was a light chastisement, since I had sort of been defending Naruto, I doubted he was actually very angry with me.

“Can I live in my clans home and not a ratty apartment Hokage-sama?” He gave me an affronted glare, as if unaware of conditions of the orphans who went through the academy. I simply stared on.

“Who told you about your family Gin-chan?” He was trying to get me to open up, to get me to trust him. I wouldn’t. He grated at my every nerve, because I knew what things he let slide behind his back, things that shouldn’t be allowed.

“Not the people that should have Hokage-sama. I’m not stupid, I see the looks I get from people and I hear what they say when they think I’m not there.” I didn’t want Keizo to get in trouble, he had so far proven to be trustworthy, and I wanted to not betray his trust.

His lips parted, the sigh was inaudible but it was there. The Hokage rifiled through some of the paperwork, before taking his brush and signing something.

“Hound, escort Gin-chan to her family’s home, ensure there are no traps set. I will deal with her clan’s funds, she can recieve a small stipend for food and clothing. Make sure her things from the orphanage make their way there as well.”

Hound-  _ Kakashi _ \- stepped forward to hold onto my shoulder again, but this time I lurched out of his reach for a moment. There was one matter unresolved, I needed my locket, needed it before I snapped again.

“Hokage-sama, where is my mother’s locket?” The old man looked up at me, he had already gone off on another train of thought, he dismissed me as dealt with, someone he could write off a bit longer.

I hated him, in that moment I wanted to show him how I suffered. I could feel my face heating up, I lowered my eye contact, not because he scared me, but to try and distract the anger-  _ control it, it can hurt people and that will get me killed- _ I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, not having my mother’s locket was tearing me to pieces now.

I knew what she had lost, how she had tried to keep me safe, and she had failed-  _ in her eyes at least, she was amazing and I wanted to have pretty hair like her, I wanted to show whoever thought that they could just kill her that they would regret it- _

I was torn from my train of thought, the Hokage was staring at me as I was lost in thought.

“The locket is being checked with T&I, the caretaker believes it was putting you under a negative influence. Once their comprehensive report is done, it will be returned to you.”

Anger again, but not searing bubbly anger, just a simmer, another reason for me to hate certain people in this village.

There were a few people I knew I would care about. Naruto, Sasuke to some extent, maybe even most of the rookie nine, but there was no way I would lay my life down for this man. He tried to use emotional manipulation on children, it would work on Naruto but not on myself.

I could see through his ploy, there would be no reason for the caretaker to think I was under a genjutsu, she was civilian and would have no way of knowing what that really was. 

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and the world spun again, causing my stomach to turn, but it didn’t make me feel better this time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am bad with deadlines and staying on an update schedule.  
> I will apologize but it will likely happen again, I tend to write in spurts and forget about typing for a few days, but the story goes on. I'm sort of mixing in some elements from one of my favorite book series, so it's sort of a crossover, but not really.  
> I'm just taking a few abilities and nerfing them, mostly just to add something new into the sealing and fighting mechanic. It won't be super prevalent until graduation time for Gin (hint that means silver), and if you need a book series to read while you wait for inconsistent updates, go check out the mistborn series from Brandon Sanderson. They keep adding to the series, it was a trilogy and now there's a ton of stuff to mess with. That is easily the main reason I'm excited to write this story, it's going to add a whole new dynamic to the fights, I'm excited.


	5. Routine

I was to live in a rather ratty apartment, there was a small kitchen living room and a bedroom  with and attached bathroom. There was very sparse furniture, probably staple for people just moving in. Bare walls and dusty countertops, they truly expect a child to live here alone. Instead of kicking and screaming like I wanted to, I simply checked the state of the cabinets. There were a few plates and bowls, very little in the fridge in the way of food.  The other cabinets were too high up for me to reach. 

Instead of bothering with food I quietly made my way to my new bedroom. Thankfully there was already a blanket and sheets. 

I had been informed that I was to stay out of trouble and start at the Academy when I was old enough. Until then, I was going to help out in the weapons store, and learn what I could about my clan's abilities.

It was odd to wake up in a bedroom, none the less an empty room.

I saw Jiji,  helped with what I could  in his store. It was mostly helping stock items, as well as learning very basic metal working. He wouldn't let me keep a kunai, but I learned how to mix the alloy for kunai and shuriken. From what I was able to tell from the notes he had given me, the specific metal mattered depending on the seal etched into it. 

Other than that, the notes seemed to be gibberish, terms that didn't make sense. It was something I would have to work on when I had more time and knowledge of my clans abilities. 

 

Time would drag on, there were busy days, then there were days that didn't end. There was only so much a three going on four year old could do. Attention would last maybe an hour, then I would need to do something else or end up being unproductive. 

I knew how my own chakra felt, it was similar to what I could feel in the air, but much more solid. I knew better than to experiment with it, as in doing actual justus.

I tried to work on my control, but my chakra was uncooperative most times. Grasping at my chakra was trying to grab smoke. Months passed before I was able to fix my mind set, my approach was the complete opposite of what I needed to do. My chakra felt solid but chakra is NOT solid. It is pure raw energy, visible, not physical, yet it feels like flowing water. 

The dam being my own body. 

When that dam burst, it flooded my veins. I had known how my chakra felt, but this was entirely different. Caffeine was amazing, but this was so much more. Energy was flowing through me, it was power, and it felt amazing. It started to fade, but there was barely enough still flowing freely. 

After that, I fought with chakra control. It was slow progress, but the more I worked  with it, it became easier and easier. 

Konoha had relatively few homeless in the shinobi district, because duh, ninjas do missions to earn money. I wandered through those streets, not worried about getting hurt unless I did something stupid. 

The streets in the civilian sector were much more likely to have homeless workers. They crowded the alleyways, and when I jogged through the village I saw them. 

Most of them probably had jobs and were working towards getting an apartment, but a select few had scabs, bloodshot eyes, and would stare me down when I jogged past. I could see in their eyes that they weren't completely there. 

Drugs existed here, but they were more common with civilians, as ninja tended to be much more secretive. I saw a familiar look in those eyes, a haunted lonlieness that shook me to my core. 

I forced the memories back, it wasn't something to think about right now. 

Nonetheless I jogged faster.

I tried to find Naruto, simply because I knew I was one of the few that would talk to him and share my food with him. The woman who worked at the orphanage deliberately gave him half the food she gave to the other children.

Sneaking around that damned place was laughably easy, little kids didn’t look into dark corners, under beds or in places there could be danger. Naruto did.

The first time he saw me, I had been lurking near the playground across the street from the orphanage, sitting in some shadows, tracing shapes into the grass. For once he seemed glad to see me, yelling my name as he ran over.

“Gin!! I thought you died.” I looked up at him as he bit one of his nails, he was nervous, nervous I would scorn him or leave him truly alone.

“Naruto-kun, have faith, it takes more than a measly Anbu to kill me.” I couldn’t help frowning, because in reality they could easily end my life. I stood abruptly, surprised I was a head taller than Naruto.

“You’re still a runt. Come with me, yeah?” I reached out my hand for him to take, and take it he did.

Since I worked at the weapon store with Jiji, he gave me a small amount of money, even though I told him I wanted to work towards my gear that I was going to use when I started at the academy. He waved me off, telling me to be a child and go play.

I didn’t play.

The money I had saved up over the first month, I used to take Naruto somewhere I knew he would love.

Ichiraku ramen stood proudly, and Teuchi grinned when he saw me running, he barely faltered when he saw my companion.

“Ah! Gin-chan, I take it you would like two beef for you and your friend?” He was smiling warmly at us both and I nodded happily.

\---

After Naruto had realized he could trust me, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with me.

Unfortunately, his sole caretaker saw me running off with him sometime in my second week living alone. She tried to keep me from spending time with him.

Sure, I spent less time with him, but that was actually a godsend. Between working in the weapons shop, doing what little training I could, and spending time with Naruto, I got very little alone time.

My schedule was along these lines:

  *       05:00 - Wake up, stretch run and basic endurance.
  *       07:00 - Eat breakfast, fest from work out and nap.



08:00 to 12:00 - Spend some time with Naruto. I would try to teach him basic things, reading or math, whatever seemed to fit.

  *       12:00 - Eat lunch, make my way to the weapons store. from there I could work for a few hours, to six or seven.



After that, I would read whatever scroll I was trying to learn, then get some sleep. I aimed for 9-8 hours, because old habits die hard, and I was very used to getting a lot of sleep.

That was my routine, and I tried to stick to it. It was easy to tell Naruto looked up to me, and I did my best to help him with what I could.

The first time I saw him black and blue after I left the orphanage, I demanded he tell me who was responsible.

Instead of telling me, he demanded that I taught him how to fight.

That only lasted until I turned four. I was easily half a year older than Naruto, which put me into the academy earlier than him.

I had hoped to waste a few years with children my age, but no. When you start at the Academy young, the instructors put you through a placement exam.

My unextraordinary apartment was barely a ten minute walk from the Academy.

My lungs didn’t even ache as I jogged, wearing loose sweats with a matching gray t-shirt. My medium length hair was in a loose ponytail. I kept my face purposely blank. I knew what it meant, to fight for people that couldn’t.

H gave those less experienced than me a chance to catch up, and it gave those stronger than me a chance to hit a distracted enemy.

An attendant stood outside the entranceway, her hair wasn’t as dark as mine, but her eyes were coal.

Mine were silver, with a barely discernable pupil, it was a scant shade darker.

The woman was asking for the names of several, much more exuberant children, before telling them the room they would test in. The testing rooms seemed to be in the closest hallway, for a lower chance of four to five year old’s getting lost.

"Hello there sweetie, what's your name?" she was looking at me, 9 calculated gaze, she seemed to already guess who I was.

I walked a few more steps closer to her before answering.

"my name is Gin Meta." My voice sounded miniscule, smaller even than I was.

Her eyes barely glanced at her clipboard.

"You will be testing in room 203. The stairway is at the end of the closest hallway. Good luck." She gave me a close eyed smile. it didn’t fail in giving me a warm rush of confidence.

From what I had heard the woman tell the other children? They were mostly on the first floor. That meant having to test on the second floor meant something. Probably something bad.

The second floor hallway was eerily quiet, as the first floor had fair amount of kids talking and yelling, excited to become NINJA.

It was kind of nice for it to be quiet, but still unnerving.

There was one person in room 263, an instructor, staring at the far wall. When I walked in, flat blue eyes met mine, and the man stood up.

He didn’t have any note able features, light brown hair that barely met his ears, a standard forehead protector in the most common place.

"Ah, it’s about time G- in-Chan. Your test is for a higher comprehension than your peers, but there is probably plenty you won’t be able to answer.

I have to go grab some other classwork to grade, I should only be gone for a few minutes."

I took the stapled test from him, along with a basic pencil.

"When you finish your test, bring it up to the front, and you are done for the day.''

I nodded, and made my way to the closest desk.

My free time reading had been spent reading history and theory about Chakra. Some of the test pertained to just that, except there was plenty of math and specialized questions, stuff that I had never bothered to look into.

The math was familiar, but the questions regarding seduction, and which flower combinations meant what, made me want to tear the test to shreds.

I could guess on the seduction, but it wasn’t something I had taken part in in my old life.

As I finished the test, I had a horrible migraine. And-1 knew it would only get worse from there.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have great news. I finally found a way to use my tablet to hand write this story, and easily convert it to text, minimal editing required. This me an y WILL update more often.  
> I'm also finally back in the states. I'll probably start a couple online classes Soon, but I have more control over what y can do.  
> I can't express how much I appreciate comments and kudos from you guys. It is what made in find a way to make it work. Honestly, if I seem to disappear, you all have permission to bother me. I promise I'm here, y just have a short attention span. If you want I can link my twitter, that way you guys can actually bother me in real time.  
> I love you guys, and remember that you all matter, at least to me  
> Be safe, and I win do my best to update soon!


End file.
